Is my laptop overheating?

Signs of an overheating computer may include a device that’s too hot to the touch. You may also experience slowdowns or shutdowns as your computer tries to slow down and cool down to prevent internal damage.

If sluggish performance or crashes coincide with high intensity usage such as gaming or multimedia editing, it’s likely because of overheating. But because these symptoms could be caused by other issues, it’s a good idea to verify that overheating is the reason by checking the temperature inside your PC.

Internal PC components generate a lot of heat, especially when you use your computer for intensive tasks for extended periods of time. This isn’t a problem as the thermal blocks, heat sink, heat pipes, heat spreaders and cooling fans inside your machine will transfer and dissipate the heat to keep temperatures under control. The purpose of a cooling system is to bring the heat (which is mostly generated by the CPU & GPU) outside of the device, and bring cooler air to the inside of the device. 

There is no way that electronic devices generate absolutely no heat. Therefore, designing and implementing an efficient thermal system in a laptop is important and requires a lot of R&D and proper selection of each individual component in the system to ensure all components perform to their full potential.

Schematic showing the entry of cool air (blue) and exit of hot air (red) in a typical notebook.

Modern laptops have many temperature gauges to monitor internal components. If the cooling mechanism is unable to bring the temperatures down, the laptop will automatically slow down (or shutdown) some components to reduce its temperature and to prevent damages. 

Compared to a desktop tower PCs, laptops are compact and have little space for all their components. So when you try and complete tasks that require a lot of computing power — such as loading a video game or streaming TV shows — the temperature of your device can rise significantly. Internal fans will try to cool everything down, but your laptop can still get too hot and start to malfunction.

One of the most common causes of a computer overheating is when the CPU temperature gets too high. High CPU temperatures can cause other components — and eventually your whole PC — to overheat. Most computer temperatures fall within a safe range, but if your CPU exceeds its maximum temps for prolonged periods, problems can quickly arise.

Here are a few other reasons why a laptop might overheat:

• The air vents are covered. This can happen when you place your laptop on a soft or uneven surface, like a bed, pillow, or your lap, that reduces air flow.

• Dust, dirt, hair, and grime can hinder your laptop's fan, causing it to struggle to cool the device down.

• There are problems with internal hardware, such as an old battery or decaying thermal paste, a substance that helps prevent your computer from overheating.

A normal CPU temperature depends on which CPU you use. Generally, anything between 40 – 65°C (or 104 – 149°F) is considered a safe heat range for a normal workload. While running more intensive apps or games, the normal CPU temp range can increase to between 70 – 80°C (158 – 176°F).

On a desktop gaming PC with plenty of cooling and a high-end CPU, it’s normal to see CPU temperatures around 50°C without running anything too demanding. On an Ultrabook — a very tight space for a powerful CPU — it’s normal for core temps to hover around 75°C during a normal workday.

A good CPU temp while gaming is between 65 – 85°C. Average temperatures above 85°C are fine for a few minutes of gameplay or other intense CPU use.

Modern CPU and GPU has built-in thermal throttling feature. Thermal throttling is designed to cool and protect CPU and GPU chips in response to heavy workloads, but there’s one caveat: Although thermal throttling protects the hardware, it can cause game lag. As PCMag.com notes, “Thermal throttling helps cool the chip when it gets too hot by lowering the speed.”

By controlling clock speed, the PC can reduce the amount of heat being generated. While this approach isn’t dangerous and can actually be protective, slower speed means less processing power. For gamers, this might mean lower frame rates. Images and graphics may load slowly or seem to hang, negatively impacting gameplay. This happens more often for those who play high-resolution, high graphic intensity games, such as first-person shooters like Call of Duty and Halo, or any other game with rich, immersive graphics.

If you find yourself constantly hitting the temperature limit, here are some tips to turn down your CPU temps:

• Clean cooling fans: If you have a laptop (especially an older one), ask a technician to open it up and clean the fans. Use compressed air dusters to unclog the inner workings of your PC and the CPU fan.

• Use a laptop stand: A handful of laptop stands on the market either lift the computer or place it vertically to allow for more air flow. Laptop stands have other usability benefits too, so you don’t have to keep checking your computer temp.

• Keep your environment cool: Don’t place your laptop or PC in direct sunlight or heat, and keep the ambient temperature as cool as possible.

• Keep it malware-free: Some viruses produce constant 100% CPU usage, drastically increasing the core load and temperature. That’s why you should regularly run a malware scan, which can detect and remove malware on your PC. Run free malware scans whenever you need to.

• Turn off background applications and close programs: Use a dedicated tune-up tools. Clear unnecessary junk from your PC, keeping your system running like new.

Here are several easy ways to check if your fan is working properly:

• When turning on your PC you should hear the fans whirring into motion

• Place your hand near the computer’s fan grille and feel for vibration

• Confirm the fans are running by using a flashlight to look for movement through the fan grille

Because a laptop’s internal components are positioned so tightly together, maintaining airflow is crucial. Since the vents are usually on the bottom, placing your laptop directly on a blanket or sofa will impede airflow. Place your laptop on a flat, hard surface like a table or even a book.

Some laptop protective cases may also block the air vents, so if you’re using one, try removing it. Another trick for keeping your laptop cool is to avoid using it in a hot environment or placing it in direct sunlight. If you don’t have access to a well shaded or air-conditioned room, get a laptop cooling pad that blows cool air upwards, keeping your machine well ventilated.

The harder you push your computer’s CPU, the more heat it generates. So when it’s overloaded for long periods, temperatures can skyrocket, and you may end up with 100% disk usage by creating virtual memory on your hard drive to cope with the increased load.

To reduce the stress on your CPU, open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl + Shift + Esc and review the applications listed in the CPU column. If any are using a high share of CPU, right-click on them and select End task to shut them down.

Multitasking with several apps open can cause your CPU to sizzle. Minimising active processes and shutting down unused programs completely will help keep temperatures under control. Uninstall unnecessary apps and remove potentially unwanted programs to free up disk space and prevent background processes from overheating your system.

Likewise, keeping lots of tabs open on your web browser can be a major drain on your PC’s resources. Close any tabs not in active use, and bookmark tabs you may need again.